BrainAge
Revealing the true age of the brain — years before cerebral damage becomes clinically apparent.
MRI-based volumetric analysis for the early detection of accelerated brain aging.
The brain can be five years older than the chronological age — with an unremarkable external appearance.
In studies, brain volume is an integral marker of overall health status and mortality risk. · Reykjavik Study · van Elderen et al., 2016
The brain ages too — often faster than the person
With increasing age, brain substance decreases. If this loss exceeds the age-typical extent, brain atrophy can be a precursor of a disease of the brain or heart — long before symptoms appear.
Accelerated aging is silent
Structural changes develop asymptomatically and are overlooked in everyday clinical practice.
Damage becomes irreversible
Brain volume lost beyond the age-typical extent is permanently gone.
Early action works
Risk factors can be treated — provided they are identified in time.
Patients with risk factors
Precisely those people who benefit most from a lifestyle change — before irreparable damage occurs.
Neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory processes can also cause brain substance to diminish faster than in the normal aging process.
From MRI image to a reliable finding
Gentle, non-invasive, and fully automated — integrable into the radiological workflow.
MRI scan
Standardized, radiation-free imaging of the brain on the existing MRI scanner.
Volumetry
Atlas-based automatic measurement of brain substance with validated software.
Age comparison
Comparison with a normal cohort of healthy subjects across the entire lifespan.
Report
Clear classification: brain volume and annual change within the normal range or conspicuous.
Validated methodological basis from jung diagnostics: the volumetry is based on Opfer et al. (2023, Eur Radiol), the annual brain volume loss rate on Opfer et al. (2024, Int J CARS, "BrainLossNet").
Where does the patient stand in the normal range?
Age [years]
If the brain volume lies clearly in the red zone, a complementary specialist workup is recommended.
Is the volume loss progressing?
On repeated measurement and in comparison with the prior examination, the annual brain volume change (BVC) shows an increase in the estimated brain age.
Age [years]
The annual change is within the normal range — the progression is unremarkable.
If the BVC lies clearly in the non-age-appropriate zone, a specialist workup is indicated.
Why offer BrainAge?
Early rather than too late
Detect accelerated brain aging while risk factors are still modifiable.
Gentle & non-invasive
Radiation-free MRI imaging without any burden on the patient.
Objective & reproducible
Automated volumetry delivers quantitative, comparable values instead of subjective assessment.
Make progression measurable
Repeat measurements document treatment success over time.
Motivation for patients
"Brain age" is an intuitive, motivating measure for lifestyle change.
Sharpen your profile
Position your practice as a provider of modern, imaging-based prevention.
Clear indication, clear limits
BrainAge is one component of risk classification — and does not replace a specialist diagnosis.
What BrainAge does
- Quantifies brain volume and its annual change
- Compares the finding with a healthy normal cohort
- Translates the result into an understandable "brain age"
- Identifies conspicuous and progressive findings
What follows
- If conspicuous: complementary specialist workup
- Review and active reduction of modifiable risk factors
- Follow-up monitoring to document treatment success
- Integration into the individual prevention concept
Make brain age visible.
Bring BrainAge into your radiology or prevention practice — and detect health risks before they become irreversible.
Intended exclusively for healthcare professionals.
Evidence for the key claims
Brain age as a biomarker of brain health
Cumplido-Mayoral et al. (2024). The mediating role of neuroimaging-derived biological brain age in the association between risk factors for dementia and cognitive decline. Lancet Healthy Longev 5:e276–e286.
Marseglia et al. (2025). Biological brain age and resilience in cognitively unimpaired 70-year-old individuals. Alzheimers Dement 21:e14435.
Kou et al. (2024). Proteomic brain age gap, dementia risk and brain volume measurements. Innov Aging 8(S1):igae098.
Vascular risk factors & accelerated aging
Cheng et al. (2024). Markers of biological brain aging mediate effects of vascular risk factors on cognitive and motor functions (UK Biobank & Hamburg City Health Study). medRxiv 2024.07.24.24310926 (Preprint).
Daviet et al. (2022). Associations between alcohol consumption and gray and white matter volumes in the UK Biobank. Nat Commun 13:1175.
Brain volume & mortality risk
van Elderen et al. (2016). Brain volume as an integrated marker for the risk of death (AGES–Reykjavik Study). J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 71:131–137.
Yi et al. (2024). Baseline and longitudinal MRI markers associated with 16-year mortality in cerebral small vessel disease (RUN DMC). Neurology 103(4):e209701.
Modifiable factors & prevention
Livingston et al. (2024). Dementia prevention, intervention and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission. Lancet 404:572–628.
Bachmann et al. (2025). Protective effects of socioeconomic status and lifestyle on amyloid- and WMH-related brain atrophy. Ann Neurol 98:1222–1236.
WHO (2019). Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia: WHO guidelines. World Health Organization, Geneva.
Methodological basis · jung diagnostics
BrainAge: Opfer et al. (2023). Automatic segmentation of the thalamus using a massively trained 3D convolutional neural network. Eur Radiol 33(3):1852–1861.
Brain volume loss rate: Opfer et al. (2024). BrainLossNet: a fast, accurate and robust method to estimate brain volume loss from longitudinal MRI. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg 19:1763–1771.